S loves her copy of Splat the Cat: Where's the Easter Bunny?It's not *my* favorite story, but it is Easter-themed, and it does have flaps. S has a special place in her heart for lift-the-flap books. :) Anyway, in the story, Splat is hoping to get a HUGE Easter Egg from the Easter Bunny. So I thought we could do some art inspired by the story and make Splat's enormous Easter egg.

You don't need to have that book, or any Easter book to be able to do the project, but if you happen to have an Easter book (or the Splat book) it is a good excuse to tie in reading and art.

I bought a piece of foam core board from Michaels (though I bet you could easily use cardboard instead) and cut it into an egg shape with a box cutter. I then cut strips of contact paperso that there would be sections of the egg that were sticky. Sometimes it's easier to use contact paper than to spread glue everywhere. Not to mention we just love using contact paper in general (if you missed our post on contact paper window art, you can read it here). After cutting the strips, I used a glue stick to get the non-sticky side adhered to the egg. I then removed the paper and taped each side of the contact paper strip around the backside of the egg with some scotch tape.

After getting the egg ready, we read our Splat book to get inspired!

S wanted to head straight down to the Art Room and get started. She added a bit to the sticky contact paper before deciding that she wanted to paint the foam core board first. She asked for red, yellow, and blue paint. She even mixed some together to make a cool rainbow paint (I've never seen her deliberately mix paint before!). She experimented with different painting techniques in each strip. One strip had very thick paint, another very thin, and one she used the brush to blot the whole way across. It's always fun for me to watch her work.

After decking out the sticky sections with a mix of sequins, pom poms, glitter, a few feathers, and exactly one hand-painted popsicle stick, her masterpiece was finished! She said she wants to leave it out for the Easter Bunny to admire, and maybe hide somewhere for her to find on Easter. I have a feeling he'll really like her enormous egg!

All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children. As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family. I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.

What a super fun project! We will have to try this out as soon as I find something big enough to use as a base! I loved reading your observations of your daughter's interactions with the materials...I have an almost three-year-old, and his use of art supplies intrigues me too.